Pending changes to the employment insurance system that could force unemployed Canadians to take lower-paying jobs outside their preferred occupations will hit northern
B.C. particularly hard, says Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MLA Nathan Cullen.
"Anybody working in the natural resource sector, anybody working in seasonal employment, where there's a cycle to the year, this is going to have a huge impact just on their ability to take certain jobs," Cullen said Thursday. "Sometimes, especially when you're starting certain careers, there'll be a six-month contract and there'll be a delay and another contract, or you'll be seasonal for the first while at the mill and then you get onto more permanent hiring, all of those things will be absolutely impacted."
Federal Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced last week tougher rules for those who've been on EI three or more times in the past five years, or who have collected EI for more than 60 weeks in the past five years.
For the first six weeks, they'll have to expand their search to jobs in their field that pay as little as 80 per cent of their previous wage.
After that, they will be required to accept any work they are qualified to perform - with on-the-job training, if required - and to accept wages starting at 70 per cent of their previous pay.
And they may have to commute up to two hours a day round trip, although it could be higher taking into account previous commuting history and the community's average commuting time.
"My offices regularly receive calls from workers in these industries who tell stories about not being able to feed their families because it's already impossible to put together enough hours to qualify for EI benefits," Cullen said. "Throwing roadblocks into the mix will put struggling northern communities and economies at further risk."
Cariboo-Prince George Conservative MP Dick Harris said Cullen is not telling the whole story and said the package includes other steps to ease the burden on claimants.
He pointed to a pilot program that will reduce the clawback rate for earnings while on claim. The program, dubbed Working While on Claim, begins Aug. 5.
"This one will ensure that claimants will always benefit from accepting work by allowing them to keep more of the money they earn while on EI," Harris said.
Harris also noted the rate claimants receive will be calculated on using an average of their "best weeks" of employment. In higher unemployment regions, fewer best weeks will be used.
"We're trying to change the status quo because we think we can make it work better," Harris said. "And the status quo, in some cases, has actually provided disincentives for people going looking for a job and we want to take that away and at the same time, we want to enhance the job market."
As for the commuting requirement, Harris said the measure only brings the situation into line with what many employed people face every day, particularly in the cities.
"If you live in Tsawwassen or White Rock or Surrey and you're working in Vancouver, you're on that Highway 99 for over an hour every morning and over an hour every night going home," Harris said. "So big deal, it's a job and hardworking Canadians, they make that time sacrifice because they know they got a job."
